title: Initial clinical test of a breast-PET scanner.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The goal of this initial clinical study was to test a new positron emission/tomography imager and biopsy system (PEM/PET) in a small group of selected subjects to assess its clinical imaging capabilities. Specifically, the main task of this study is to determine whether the new system can successfully be used to produce images of known breast cancer and compare them to those acquired by standard techniques.
  
  
  METHODS
  The PEM/PET system consists of two pairs of rotating radiation detectors located beneath a patient table. The scanner has a spatial resolution of ∼2 mm in all three dimensions. The subjects consisted of five patients diagnosed with locally advanced breast cancer ranging in age from 40 to 55 years old scheduled for pre-treatment, conventional whole body PET imaging with F-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). The primary lesions were at least 2 cm in diameter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The images from the PEM/PET system demonstrated that this system is capable of identifying some lesions not visible in standard mammograms. Furthermore, while the relatively large lesions imaged in this study where all visualised by a standard whole body PET/CT scanner, some of the morphology of the tumours (ductal infiltration, for example) was better defined with the PEM/PET system. Significantly, these images were obtained immediately following a standard whole body PET scan.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The initial testing of the new PEM/PET system demonstrated that the new system is capable of producing good quality breast-PET images compared standard methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology Hematology/Oncology, Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA. rraylman@wvu.edu
authors.forename: Raymond R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Raylman
authors.forename: Jame
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hazard
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Koren
authors.forename: Shannon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Filburn
authors.forename: Judith S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Schreiman
authors.forename: Sobha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurian
authors.forename: Stan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Majewski
authors.forename: Gary D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Marano
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D001940:Breast / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003196:Computer Graphics; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009716:Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013382:Subtraction Technique; D014584:User-Computer Interface